Taipei 2010

I'm picking up blogging again after a 5 year absence.  It's not that I didn't travel during that time, it's just that I was lazy.  It'll be close to impossible for me to catch everyone up on all the places I've been to in the past 5 years, but I'll start with the 2 big trips I took this year. 

1/3/2010, I got a plane from Maui to go meet my mom in Taipei.  I was going to Taipei for a week for a work trip and I gave my mom a plane ticket to join me as her Christmas gift that year.  While the flight was long and involved plane changes in Honolulu and Tokyo, I can't complain too much since I got upgraded to Business class.  (Lay flat seats/beds are amazing)

Landing in Taipei on 1/4/2010, I met up with my mom and Ben who was a good friend and coworker to head to the Grand Hyatt Taipei.  The hotel is right next to the Taipei 101 building which on 1/2/2010 was the tallest building in the world.  On 1/3/2010, Dubai unveiled the Burj Khalifa  the new tallest building in the world.  (Damn it!)  Still the Taipei 101 is pretty amazing and I was excited about the fact that the Google offices were on the 73 floor of the building.

Let me try to condense the rest of my week in Taipei so you don't get bored with me.  I would wake up early and do breakfast in the hotel with Ben.  The breakfast at the Grand Hyatt was GREAT, a blend of asian and western food.  It was a great way to start the day.  Then I would work with the Taipei team and then spend time with friends and my mom after work.  Repeat for 5 days and more exploring on the weekend.  

My general impressions of Taipei was that it was clean, modern, and delicious.  There was so much good food, I literally could've spent another week just eating.  In fact, most of the time, my biggest problem was that I wanted to eat more but I was stuffed. 

Let's hit the highlights:

1) Night markets

In my opinion, hands down the best part of Taipei.  These are streets that are full of food vendors between the hours of 5PM and midnight or later.  You can eat like a king for less than 5 US dollars.  The food is a blend of all my favorite chinese food.  I guess that makes sense when you think about the fact that a lot of chinese people from all over China came over to Taiwan and the food/culture definitely blended.

Specialty store that makes soup dumplings deserves a mention. I did go there twice during my week in Taipei.  Check it out: http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp

2) Shopping 

There's a lot of shopping to do in Taipei.  In the downtown district by Taipei 101, you'll find all the designer brands you love.  西門町 - pedestrian shopping district. it's on the west side of the city,

also the old part of the city.  The clothes here are very much influenced by japanese fashion. 

3) Pandas

I didn't actually go, but my mom fell in love with the pandas at Taipei zoo.  

4) Foot massages

They're cheaper in China, but they're totally affordable and fun in Taipei.  Be warned, you must like strong massages!!

My friend Juliet sent a full list of things to do. I didn't get to them all but for those of you visiting, here it is.

THINGS TO DO / PLACES TO GO

士林夜市 - most famous night market in taipei, tons of 小吃 and cheap souvenirs. make sure you go on an empty stomach!
師大路夜市 - there is a night market here, but you can also go during the day. food is cheap when next to an university. this one is adjacent to
師範大學 where lots of 老外 take mandarin classes.
公館夜市 - another night market, this one is next to 台大. there'll be stuff during the day as well. lots of food stalls and t-shirt / accessories.
西門町 - pedestrian shopping district. it's on the west side of the city, also the old part of the city. my old hangout! the clothes here are very much influenced by japanese fashion. you should definitely check it out and get a sense of the place.
華西街觀光夜市 - aka snake alley, on the west / old part of town. it's been cleaned up for tourists... but you should still go see the snakes and check out 龍山寺 one of the most popular temple in taipei. food to sample
here but not limited to: 擔仔麵, 燒酒蝦 (drunken shrimp), 青草茶 (ice herbal
tea), 炒米粉 (rice noodles), and 碗粿 (taiwanese rise bowl). 

東區 - this is the popular 'new' hangout district for young people in taipei, though it used to stop around 忠孝東路四段, but with the constuctionof Taipei 101 and the boom in surrounding areas, it now extends to
忠孝東路七段. it's busy during the day as well as night... there are lots of department stores along 忠孝東路. there's also a night market on 通化街.

visit these if you have more time... museums will have entrance fee (you should get the student discount) and the parks are free of course.
故宮博物院 - national palace museum. lots of old stuff (traditional paintings, bronze, jade, china sculptures, etc.) that chiang kai shek looted from the forbidden palace in beijing before retreating to taiwan. this museum is huge... theres probably buses that'll get you there.
台北市立美術館 - or 北美館 for short. this is the taipei art museum. the art is okay, but the buidling is interesting (concrete, post-modern). it's also close-ish to 士林夜市.
中正紀念堂 - chiang kai shek memorial... west side of town. there's a park around the memorial, but not the kind you would want to hang out in. it's a very formal park. in the morning there are always old ppl
practicing tai-chi or dancing.
國父紀念館 - sun yat sen memorial... also formal, on the east side of town.
總統府 - the presidential palace. built during the japanese colonial period, designed by japanese architect. free entrance, visit monday -friday 9am - 12 noon. be sure to bring passport.
陽明山 - highest mountain in taipei, good for hikes and views of taipei. http://wikitravel.org/en/Yangmingshan
迪化街 - also old part of town. lots of baroque, colonial style architecture. shops selling herbs and traditional snacks. this place is especially busy during chinese new year. afternoon and weekends it becomes more activated.